Miura P400

The Miura began as an unauthorized side project by three young Lamborghini engineers: Gian Paolo Dallara, Paolo Stanzani, and Bob Wallace. They designed the chassis in their spare time, presenting the bare platform at the 1965 Turin Motor Show. Ferruccio Lamborghini reluctantly approved the project.

Marcello Gandini, just 27 years old and recently hired by Bertone, drew the body. The result was the most beautiful car of the 1960s: a low, sensuous shape with eyelash headlights, a shark-nose front, and muscular rear haunches that hinted at the V12 mounted transversely behind the cockpit.

The engineering was as radical as the design. The V12 sat transversely behind the driver, sharing its oil with the gearbox in a compact package that allowed an impossibly low body. The chassis was a sheet-steel monocoque with the engine as a stressed member.

The Miura redefined what a sports car could be. Before 1966, high-performance cars were front-engined. After the Miura, the mid-engine layout became the default for any car claiming supercar status. It influenced the Ferrari Dino, the Lamborghini Countach that replaced it, and every mid-engine exotic that followed.

764 Miuras were built across P400, P400 S, and P400 SV variants. Today they command $1.5 million to $4 million depending on specification.